Neilson Powless, fifth place at the UCI Road World Championships in Flanders last season, was due to lead his country's charge in the elite men's road race in Wollongong, Australia this month. However, he revealed to Cyclingnews he may skip the race and focus instead on the late-season races in Europe before closing out the year at the Japan Cup.
"I'm not sure if I'm going to Worlds - I'm still on the fence," Powless told Cyclingnews before the start of the Maryland Cycling Classic. "I was selected for the team, and we're still trying to keep things in order for me to go to Worlds straight from Canada. But I would say it's 50-50 if I go or not."
There have been a slew of high-profile withdrawals from the Worlds roster, with Alejandro Valverde among those not going. The Spaniard is key to keeping Movistar's WorldTour hopes alive as they struggle in the 2020-2022 team rankings. Currently 18th, they could face relegation to the Pro Continental level if they drop behind Lotto Soudal.
Other recent withdrawals include Tom Pidcock, who withdrew citing fatigue, while 2019 Junior World Champion Quinn Simmons also opted out of the USA team. Caleb Ewan will miss the race to keep Lotto Soudal on its upward trajectory, and Ireland aren't even sending a team citing financial concerns.
Powless said the decision to go or not is his. "It's up to me to decide, OK, do I feel my resources would be better, but towards towards racing in Europe straight after Quebec and Montreal? Or do I think I really have a shot at a top five or podium at Worlds. And it's a hard one to say, especially with the the field changing so much with a lot of guys pulling out. That'll definitely change the the way the race is raced."
On the negative side is a long season and only one week at home in Nice in the last two and a half months.
"I'm finishing my season in Japan. So it's also just gonna be a lot of travel to get to Australia. It'd be nice to get some home time instead of going straight to Australia for another month. And then I would fly straight to Italy [for Il Lombardia]. So I basically just wouldn't be home for like six months."
If he doesn't go to Wollongong, Powless plans to tackle the series of one-day races in Italy around Il Lombardia before heading to Japan.
"They suit me really well. And I love those races. So really eager to get there and race. But I'm also thinking about maybe trying to sneak in some time at home before I go there just to reset and unpack my suitcase."
Along with the WorldTour points pressure, riders face days of jetlag along with risks of getting sick with the long trip to Australia and Powless seemed to be leaning strongly toward not making the trip.
"It's a risk- you're definitely risking not being very good anymore for the rest of the season if you go to Australia, or just not being at the same level. There's potential that I could show up to Australia and be really good, but then turning around and coming back to Europe straight from there. And that's just an added stress to have to go through that time change again. And then trying to get to Japan to at the end of the year. It feels like I'm just jumping all over the world right now. And yeah, Australia is still in the balance because of that."
Last year at Worlds, Powless finished ahead of many of the favourites, with names like Tom Pidcock, Mathieu van der Poel, Wout van Aert behind on the rankings. With a successful Tour de France behind him that almost netted the maillot jaune, he isn't lacking for confidence but the risks may outweigh the potential benefits.
"I feel like World Championships is a grab bag, even if somebody says 'I'm preparing and preparing for this', it's so hard to quantify all the fatigue that's been building up over the whole year. You could show up and be amazing, or you could show up and just not have what you thought you would have. A lot of guys went to Worlds and were so focused on it, then got to the race and realised they just didn't have the sharp end they thought they had. It's always hard to be predict, especially if you're flying 20 hours to get there."
Powless has bigger objectives coming next year, with the Tour de France leader's jersey evading him by a thin four seconds after stage 6 when Tadej Pogačar claimed the race lead in Longwy. The performance and his ultimate 13th place finish (or 12th if Nairo Quintana is disqualified by CAS), has led to much speculation that he could be the USA's next big Tour de France hopeful.
He had a different outlook. "I still haven't really felt competitive over an entire three-week period. I think for a one week race, definitely. I'd like to target those next year and one day races - but three week races, I'm not really thinking too much about it.
"I think if I find myself in another position next year where I'm better and I can stay healthy and try for a top 10 or top five, I would definitely like to do that but it's really hard to say if I'll be able to compete for a podium or a jersey overall by the end of a three-week Tour.
"I'd really like to get my hands on yellow jersey. I came so close to it and I think that's definitely a possibility but holding it all the way to the end would be a big ask."
